• The BBC is a trusted, independent media organization.
• And will continue to co-operate with the authorities.
• While the government has attempted to prevent people from sharing the documentary.

After searching the broadcaster’s headquarters there, Indian tax authorities claim they found discrepancies in the BBC’s accounting records.

The declaration, which doesn’t specifically mention the BBC, was made this week after authorities conducted a three-day operation at locations in Delhi and Mumbai.

The BBC promises to keep working with us. Any direct communication from tax authorities will be answered.

The claims come amid a controversy about a BBC documentary in India.

A “prominent multinational Media Corporation” that produces “material in Hindi, English, and numerous other Indian languages” said on Friday that the Indian Income Revenue Department had conducted a “survey” at its offices in Delhi and Mumbai.

It said income and profits disclosed by the organisation’s units were “not commensurate with the scale of operations in India”.

The findings “indicate that tax has not been paid on certain remittances which have not been disclosed as income in India by the foreign entities of the group”, the statement added.

On Thursday, following a three-day search of its offices in India, the BBC said: “We will continue to co-operate with the authorities and hope matters are resolved as soon as possible.”

The statement continued: “We are supporting staff – some of whom have faced lengthy questioning or been required to stay overnight – and their welfare is our priority.

“Our output is back to normal and we remain committed to serving our audiences in India and beyond.

“The BBC is a trusted, independent media organization and we stand by our colleagues and journalists who will continue to report without fear or favor.”

The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attempted to prevent people from sharing the BBC documentary India: The Modi Question, calling it as “hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage” with a “colonial attitude.” The video was exclusively broadcast on television in the UK.

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